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Unconquered Sun closing down, citing decreased demand for solar panels

A company that once assembled and installed solar panels is closing. It has only been installing them for the past eight years. The loss of the provincial MicroFIT program is being blamed.

Building up for sale for just more than $2M

Dale Molnar · CBC News ·
The Unconquered Sun building in Tecumseh is up for sale for $2,050,000. (Dale Molnar/CBC)

When Unconquered Sun Solar Technologies in Tecumseh first opened about ten years ago, between 25 and 50 employees assembled and installed solar panels at businesses and homes.

But after the provincial government cancelled the MicroFIT program, which allowed homeowners with solar panels to sell energy back to the province, the market for solar panels saw a significant decline, according to the CEO of Bluewater Power in Sarnia.

Now, the building at the corner of Banwell Road and County Road 42 is up for sale for just more than two million dollars.

"We went from the heyday back when there was government programs providing 82 cents a kilowatt hour to today.— having a system which will offset your own costs of power which, let's say, is around 13 cents," said Janice McMichael-Dennis.

"So you can see a very big difference in the economics. Over the years, simply the demand has dropped consistently"

McMichael-Dennis said Unconquered Sun stopped assembling panels eight years ago and have only been selling and installing them since then.

Unconquered Sun has only been selling and installing solar panels for the past eight years. (Dale Molnar/CBC)

They had 10 employees in January, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to shut down and lay people off. Now, only three employees work for the company — including its founder, Sean Moore.

The remaining members of the team will continue operations for the next two months, finishing up installations and doing some service work, according to McMichael-Dennis.

Martin Amdur is disappointed to hear of the closing. He bought $20,000 worth of solar panels from Unconquered Sun four years ago.

Despite his concerns about how the closure will affect him, Amdur said Moore is scheduled to perform some service work later this week.

"I was worried for my warranty, but the previous owner does guarantee me that he'll be looking after me and everyone else," said Amdur.

Martin Amdur stands in front of his house on Lillian Avenue. He had Unconquered Sun install solar panels on the roof four years ago. (Dale Molnar/CBC)

This is just the latest green energy sector business in Windsor to close. CS Wind — which produced towers for wind turbines — closed last year.

McMichael-Dennis said closing down Unconquered Sun was a painful decision to make, but Moore would not comment on the closure.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dale Molnar

Video Journalist

Dale Molnar is a video journalist at CBC Windsor. He is a graduate of the University of Windsor and has worked in television, radio and print. He has received a number of awards including an RTDNA regional TV news award and a New York Festivals honourable mention.

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